


What is Happening?

by ALilyPea (alilypea)



Series: Tumblr Prompts/Asks 2021 [5]
Category: 9-1-1: Lone Star (TV 2020)
Genre: Coming Out, Family Issues, Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-08
Updated: 2021-03-08
Packaged: 2021-03-15 00:01:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,214
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29924847
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alilypea/pseuds/ALilyPea
Summary: Carlos goes to family dinner and his parents keep asking him if he's going to bring someone. He soon figures out why.
Relationships: Carlos Reyes/TK Strand
Series: Tumblr Prompts/Asks 2021 [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2146488
Comments: 45
Kudos: 282





	What is Happening?

**Author's Note:**

  * For [snufflesandfluff](https://archiveofourown.org/users/snufflesandfluff/gifts).



> Written for snufflesandfluff on Tumblr who prompted me: "Tarlos holding hands at the market and the Reyes parents seeing them before they let go."
> 
> This is like the best-case scenario for the Reyes family for me because Carlos deserves some love and support. 
> 
> **TW: Struggles with coming out ******

Carlos stood outside the door to his parents' home, wishing not for the first time that he wasn't there alone. That TK was by his side. His hand curled briefly as though he held TK's before he raised it to knock on the door. 

Andrea Reyes opened the door and glared up at her son, "Knocking as though you are a guest?" She shook her head and leaned up to hug him, tsking. 

"Sorry, Mama, I was caught up in my head," Carlos explained, stooping to hug her, sighing softly. Even when he was unsure of things, she comforted him.

"You need to get more out of your head, mi Hijo," She told him, pulling him into the house, closing the door behind them. "You didn't bring anyone with you?" 

Carlos thought again of TK and wondered how quickly "mi Hijo" said with warmth would change to disappointment. "No, I've never brought anyone home."

Andrea's lips pressed together in a frown as she shook her head, "Ai, your father and I just want you to be happy."

Carlos nodded; slipping out of his jacket, he pocketed his phone and followed her into the kitchen. He sidled up to the sink and washed his hands, looking out the window as he did so he could see his dad approaching the house at a slow pace, hat pulled low over his eyes. When Carlos had been a kid, Gabriel Reyes had been his hero; now, he was someone who scared him in a way. 

The door opened a moment later, and Carlos could hear the sound of boots hitting the wall a few seconds before he walked in. Carlos stepped away, sink still running; he dried his hands as Gabriel washed his.

"Mijo, no one came with you?" He asked, tone jovial.

"No, Sir," Carlos answered, rubbing a hand over his curls. He bit his bottom lip as he turned and accepted the plates from his mom, moving to set the table.

"I would have thought you would bring someone," Gabriel turned off the sink and dried his hands before hanging his hat up.

Carlos hummed in response, pretending to be struggling with the cloth napkins his mother insisted they use every week. He just hoped to God they weren't going to try to set him up with someone. They never had before, but then they'd never seemed interested in his love life before. Damn Luciana for getting engaged; now he seemed like the only single one.

Once the table was set, the food was served, and their mouths were full, Carlos could relax a little. Maybe they wouldn't interrogate him over tamales. Somehow he'd forgotten that most of his mother's interrogations had taken place over this same recipe.

"So, Carlos, did you get what you needed at the market the other day?" Andrea asked.

Carlos froze, fork halfway to his mouth. No, he definitely had not; devastation and fighting with his boyfriend had not been on the grocery list. "No," he answered, then took a bite.

"No?" Andrea frowned. "That's it? That's all you have to say since you arrived here. No. Again and again."

"Yes?" Carlos replied, then cringed. He'd phrased that like a question—big mistake.

"How long have you known that boy? TJ?" Gabriel asked as he set down his cutlery.

"His name is TK, Dad," Carlos corrected, unable to help but be annoyed at them and himself.

"Okay, so we called him TJ, and you called him a friend. We all make mistakes," Andrea flung her hands in the air, shaking her head in frustration.

What...was...happening? "What?" Carlos dropped his fork, not even looking when it hit the floor. 

"God grant me strength," Andrea muttered next. "Carlos, you are a homosexual."

"I am aware," Carlos replied slowly.

"So are we," Gabriel told him, pursing his lips. "We saw you holding hands with your...partner?"

"Boyfriend, partner gets confusing in our line of work," Carlos explained, then rubbed his forehead, a headache forming. "Wait, so you're both just okay with this?"

"We have been okay with this since you were seventeen," Andrea responded. "I am not okay with being lied to." 

"He's coming to dinner soon; check your schedules," Gabriel informed him.

"You never said anything," Carlos swallowed, feeling anxious and offside. "Ever."

"Oh," Andrea's voice softened, sorry in her eyes as she reached for his hand and squeezed. "Carlito, we love you, and we only want you to be happy."

"That would've been nice to know for my entire adult life," the words wrenched themselves from his throat, and his hand trembled under hers. Carlos clenched his jaw; sure, his eyes were swimming in tears. 

"Carlos, we are sorry," Gabriel told him, his tone filled with nothing but regret. "I think we assumed you didn't want to talk about it, so we did not. In that, we were wrong. I am sorry."

Carlos jerked his head in a nod, accepting the apology for what it was right then. They would hash it out later when he didn't feel so thrown; they would need to, for all their sakes. 

Right now, he just...couldn't. 

"Will you tell us about him?" Andrea asked, picking his fork up off the floor; she got up and returned moments later with a clean one. "This TK. What does that stand for?" 

Carlos slumped into his seat, rubbing a hand over his eyes; he took a deep breath, "Tyler Kennedy." He settled in for what he suspected would be a longer-than-normal dinner. 

\---

Entering his home, Carlos finally allowed himself to relax, his shoulders dropping as he did, so he closed and locked the door. The sound of the world being shut out brought him comfort he couldn't begin to explain at that moment fully.

TK, on the couch, remote in hand, set it and the bowl of popcorn aside. He straightened up, brows furrowed in concern as he took in his boyfriend's appearance. "Babe, are you okay? What happened?" 

Carlos shrugged out of his coat, hanging it haphazardly; he walked to the couch and sat down next to TK, flopping sideways, so his upper body was on TK's legs, he pressed his face into one of them. 

"They know," He muttered, the fabric of TK's sweatpants brushing his lips slightly. 

"They know?" TK repeated slowly, hand falling to his shoulders and rubbing before it suddenly stopped. "They know?!" 

"We fought for no reason; I am an idiot," Carlos continued murmuring, unable to believe the last few hours of his life had actually occurred. He felt wrung out like he'd been put through some weird spin cycle. "They saw us holding hands. I introduced you as my **friend**." He shot up as TK began shaking lightly. "Are you laughing?" 

TK clamped a hand over his mouth, eyes full of mirth as he shook his head, trying to deny it. 

"I can't believe you're laughing. This is serious," Carlos protested even as a chuckle spilled from his lips, and he soon found himself leaning against TK as they laughed until they cried. 

"Oh my god," TK snorted, swiping at his cheeks. "Does this mean I'm invited for the next family dinner?" 

"Yes, Tyler Kennedy, you are," Carlos nudged him. 

"Wait, did you tell them my full name?!"

**Author's Note:**

> I know leaving comments can be daunting. If you liked this and enjoyed reading it, even leaving a little 💛 in the comments can make my day.


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